


Together at Once

by Widow_Spyder



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: <- plural, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Gen is grouchy sick, Huddling For Warmth, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Senku just wants a nap, Sick Character, Sickfic, basically both our boys gotta go into qurantine, cuz they got a cold, sengen, this one is mainly fluffy rather than angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:00:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24512737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Widow_Spyder/pseuds/Widow_Spyder
Summary: The human body is a fragile thing. It’s one of the first life lessons you learn after you’re born. Tripping and falling onto concrete can make your knees bleed while falling out of a tree can break your arm or leg. Getting struck on the head can give you a concussion, and staying out in the rain for too long can give you a cold.That last one was probably the most accurate for the times.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen/Ishigami Senkuu
Comments: 10
Kudos: 213





	Together at Once

The human body is a fragile thing. It’s one of the first life lessons you learn after you’re born. Tripping and falling onto concrete can make your knees bleed while falling out of a tree can break your arm or leg. Getting struck on the head can give you a concussion, and staying out in the rain for too long can give you a cold. That last one was probably the most accurate for the times. 

Senku should know that. _He does know that!_ But apparently, he didn’t listen to his body’s warning until it was too late. Science is a good distraction, and last night’s experiment needed rainwater to work. In retrospect, he probably should’ve re-invented umbrellas and ponchos just for that occasion because now the price of not having any of them was kicking Senku in the ass. 

Or mainly, the head according to the ever-growing throbbing behind his eyes. 

Senku cursed as he smudged his charcoal writings for the fifteenth time that day. At this rate, he was either going to rip out his hair in frustration or collapse in a boneless heap on the floor. At the speed, his cold was spreading, it would likely be the latter if he didn’t get his priorities in order. 

“Chrome!” Senku yelled, poking his head out of the lab and wincing at the cold rain that whipped past him. 

“Senku? What’s up?” Chrome yelled back as he jogged over to the lab, soaking wet. Senku grimaced as his headache became worse with all the yelling. 

“I’m going to the observatory and can’t be disturbed by anyone for the next few days. I’ll need a jar of water and some of the acetaminophen we made to be brought up.” Senku instructed as Chrome nodded. 

“What’s going on? Are you alright? You look paler.” Chrome asked, stopping himself from stepping closer when Senku raised his hand to stop him. 

“Caught a cold.” Senku responded, lowering his arm when Chrome didn’t move anymore. “I’m fine, but we need to prevent it from spreading to the village, which means you and everyone else needs to stay away from the observatory and me until it clears up. 

“This - this isn’t -” Chrome stuttered, his eyes widening in fear. “- like Ruri’s case, is it?”

Senku shook his head, dispelling Chrome’s fears quickly. “No, it’s not that far yet. But if we leave it to fester, then it ten billion percent will turn into pneumonia.” 

“Okay, tell me what to do, Senku.” Chrome adamantly held his hands over his hips, looking every bit like those old superheroes from those comic books Byakuya got. Senku shook those thoughts out of his head before he could get distracted, flinching when all it did was worsen his headache. 

“Go tell Kohaku to look around the village for anyone showing symptoms and to bring them to the observatory.” Senku ordered. 

“Got it.” Chrome nodded, about to turn and walk away before he hesitated, giving Senku one last one over. “What about you? Can you get there on your own?”

“I’m not incapacitated yet. I’ll manage it.”

“Oh man, hopefully, no one else caught it.” Chrome wondered aloud. 

“That’s why we need to take precautions.” Senku said. “Masks, gloves, maybe some eyewear and lots of soap. Tell the rest of the village to wash their hands and stay indoors as much as possible.” 

Chrome smiled brightly. “We’re on it, Senku, you go rest.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Senku chuckled at Chrome’s enthusiasm before bracing himself and practically running through the rain and to the observatory.

——————

Senku had to admit the Ishigami villagers were pretty efficient when you gave them orders. In the few hours that passed, all the villagers had adorned masks and were keeping away from each other as requested. But with the pouring rain, it wasn’t too hard of a task since no one was keen to go outside anyway. Hopefully, all their actions were in time to stop anyone else from getting infected.

Meanwhile, Senku was getting comfortable in his mound of blankets after having taken his latest dose of fever reducer, relaxed with the knowledge that the village could handle itself for a few days without him. As much as he hated having to take a break from working towards his world-saving goals, he knew he had to kick this bout of virus for his own sake and the village’s sake. Before they created the sulfa drug, dozens of people used to die of the common flu in Ishigami village, whether they were young, in their prime or elderly, it didn’t matter, and Senku did not want a repeat of that terrible history. 

It was all he could do to rest and get better in peace. He had already developed a fever the first hour in, but it wasn’t high enough to warrant concern, and Senku was sure the sulfa drug would be able to take care of it fast. The rest of his symptoms he’d have to deal with naturally. The congestion could be remedied with a hot bowl of spring water, the headache with herbal tea, and the tiredness with a few naps. 

Of course, that’s when a loud knock resonated through the room, and the door opened a second later, bringing in cold wind gusts and a few droplets of rain. With it also came Kohaku wearing a mask and a bundle of purple, squirming fitfully in the grasp she had around it’s midsection. 

_Ah, their mentalist…_ It made sense, in retrospect, since Gen had also been out there the night before with Senku. Why wouldn’t he have caught the virus as well? Though it didn’t look like he was making it easy. 

“I’m telling you, I’m fine!” Gen panted, trying to get out of Kohaku’s gorilla grip, holding him with one arm under his stomach at her waist. It was honestly a little amusing. Senku would’ve laughed had a rough cough, not beat him to it. 

“Senku, I found him in a tree coughing badly.” Kohaku reported, seemingly oblivious to Gen’s kicking. Either that or she was good at ignoring it. 

“And I told you, I just got something stuck in my throat!” Gen flailed even harder, trying to get her to release him to no avail. 

Kohaku grunted but kept her hold on him tight. “He’s the only one besides you who showed symptoms.”

“I’m not sick!” Gen protested again. 

Senku nodded as he gestured for Kohaku to release her hold before Gen choked himself. “Alright, I expected that. Put him down and tell the others not to come in here until I deem it safe. Only you and Chrome are allowed.” Kohaku agreed with a nod before opening the door and stepping out. 

Gen shakily rose from his spot on the floor where Kohaku had laid him down. “Listen to me, I’m telling you I’m not sick!” 

“I’ll be the judge of that mentalist.” Senku declared as he also stood up, making Gen take a few stumbled steps back. 

“Ew no! You’ll just spread it to me!” Gen yelped when Senku lunged forward to try and grab him. 

“I can’t spread what you already have, stupid mentalist!” Senku rushed forward again, pushing his weakened muscles to keep up with Gen’s frantic escaping. “Come here!” Senku yelled, finally managing to tackle Gen to the floor after his foot got caught on a stray blanket. “Buck me off -” Senku warned, out of breath as he lay perched on Gen’s waist, pinning him to the floor. “- And I’ll never make you cola again.” 

Gen stilled. “That’s not - mmph!” Senku jammed their homemade thermometer into Gen’s mouth before he could finish that statement. Senku counted it a win when Gen didn’t immediately retaliate. 

“Good, stay still.” Senku murmured as they both waited for it to do its job. After 2 minutes, Senku took it out and observed it’s readings. “102.3 mentalist, you’re sick.” 

“Damn it.” Gen cursed, as Senku pulled himself off Gen’s body and re-organized their surroundings after getting thrown around from their tumble. 

“Get up and get out of those wet clothes.” Senku ordered, throwing an extra blanket to Gen to wrap himself in. “Here, warm up, so you don’t make yourself worse.” 

“What are you, my mother?” Gen snapped, harshly tugging off his layers to throw at the ground with a wet slap. 

Senku grimaced at the rough handlings. “No, but I’m starting to feel bad for whoever took care of you if you’re this grouchy when you’re sick.” 

“I never got sick.” Gen angrily mumbled, making Senku roll his eyes as much as his headache would allow. 

“That’s bullshit, and we both know it.” Senku scoffed. 

Gen didn’t answer, instead deciding to lay down and sulk perpetually ignoring Senku as he too laid down again. 

“So, a tree?” Senku asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence between them.

Gen shifted and tucked himself further into his bedding before stiffly replying. “Good night, Senku.” 

With that, Gen fell asleep rather quickly, leaving Senku to stare at the back of his head. Senku looked away and sighed. 

“Yeah, sleep well, Gen.”

——————

Despite the rough reception, the night passed in relative ease for both of them. Senku only woke to a few coughing fits while Gen was so knocked out, he didn’t hear him at all and slept on without a disturbance.

By the time dawn crested over the mountain, both of their fevers had neither raised nor lowered, which only proved another day of hard recovery was going to be held. While Senku had started coughing up his lungs as his sinuses clogged, Gen woke to his energy severely depleted and a sore throat. 

Were Senku in the right mind, he would’ve been doing a lot of tests to figure out why their symptoms were different despite supposedly having the same virus, but his own symptoms weren’t allowing him to do anything other than hack and sneeze. Meanwhile, Gen went back to sleep without a word, only waking when Kohaku knocked on their door again, this time bringing bowls of broth for them to eat. 

It took a lot of coaxing to get their stomachs to accept it, and in the end, they ended up getting half of the bowls down before tiredness overtook the both of them, and they fell asleep again. This time, with cold rags on their foreheads and another dose of acetaminophen to get their fevers down. 

Now they’d have to deal with the worst part of recovery; the pain before the relief. It was common knowledge in the old days that a sign that a fever was abating was that the person got worse with their symptoms. This time was no different. 

Between bouts of semi-consciousness, Senku would either be shivering so hard he felt like he was going to break in half or be so boiling, he’d felt like he was taking a swim in the sulfur pools. He knew Gen wasn’t faring any better, but he didn’t have enough strength to check on him, already feeling himself lose another battle to his draining energy. 

After what felt like half a dozen hours of misery, Senku finally woke up more alert and with the relief of an almost wholly gone fever. Now all he had to do was ride out the after waves, and he should feel better by the next day. Not enough to warrant an end to their quarantine but enough that he wouldn’t be uncomfortable for the rest of the next day. 

The next thing he had to do, after finishing taking stock of his own body was to check Gen’s. He was still sleeping fitfully near him in his own bedroll, seemingly still riding out his fever. With an air of caution as to not wake him, Senku took the now warm rag off the floor where it had fallen off Gen’s head, re-wetted it, and put it back on his forehead. Gen squirmed at the sensation before settling again. 

Another hour and a half passed as Senku kept watching over Gen’s recovery, being sure to re-wet the rag on his forehead when it got warm and holding a bowl of hot water close by so they could both breathe the steam. It was finally two hours later when Gen began to stir. 

Senku watched as Gen’s eyes slowly blinked open, blearily trying to focus on his surroundings. 

“Easy, your fever just broke.” Senku took hold of Gen’s shoulder, pushing him back down when he tried to sit up. The lack of response made Senku’s insides churn in worry. “Gen?” Senku placed his hand on Gen’s forehead, gauging the fever when Gen finally turned to look at him. “Talk to me.” 

“Why?” Gen asked, wincing at the croakiness of his voice. Senku paid it no mind. 

“So I can make sure you aren’t going looney.”

Gen closed his eyes as a faint air of annoyance overtook his expression. “Fine, what should I talk about?” 

Senku thought about it for a moment. It usually wasn’t his place to act emotional or to inquire about someone’s mental state. That was Gen’s job, and Senku was happy to leave it to him to take care of. Except this time, Gen was the one he needed to make sure wasn’t playing a losing battle to a fever. Senku could already tell it wasn’t going to be easy. Gen seemed to hate even the idea that he could get sick in this world. “Tell me why you insisted you were fine earlier.”

“I thought I wasn’t sick.” Gen answered, fast and sure. _A lie._

Senku scoffed. “With a 102-degree fever? Obviously, you had to know something was off.”

“Nope, I had no idea.” 

“You know I wouldn’t have judged you, had you admitted it.” Senku sighed, brushing his drooping hair, damp and now de-formed because of his fever break, out of his face. “In fact, this whole thing is kind of me anyway so -” That got Gen’s attention as he turned his head to look at Senku from his place on the floor. “- yeah.” Senku finished awkwardly. 

“I don’t blame you for getting me sick, Senku-chan.” Gen said, patting Senku on the leg in a comforting gesture before cringing and turning away again. “And I’m sorry for being so rude earlier.” He mumbled, all annoyance gone with the howling wind outside.

“It’s alright, getting sick sucks.” Senku petted Gen’s hand that was still resting on his leg. It was easy to understand why Gen was averse to admitting he was sick. While Senku was no mentalist like him, it was simple enough to figure Gen was the type that liked to remain in control of every situation he was in. Being sick would take that control away, which Senku guessed was not something Gen liked. 

“Tell me about it.” Gen grumbled, snapping Senku out of his thoughts. “Not only do our own bodies not cooperate with our brains, it decides to torture us with runny noses and sore throats!” 

“It’s the only way our bodies know how to fight the virus, but I get where you’re coming from.” Senku chuckled at Gen’s pouting. “I wish I was knee-deep in Kaseki’s blueprints right now.” 

“Only you would find joy in going over those things.” Gen said, his pout forming into disgust that had no edge. 

“What, re-building the modern world’s luxuries isn’t exciting for you, mentalist?” Senku teased. 

Gen bat his eyelashes like a pretty maiden. “It would help if I didn’t have to do so much awful labor.” 

Senku laughed before pretending to take on a serious tone. “Well I guess that means I shouldn’t tell you about the next job I have planned for you.” 

“Noo! No more, you slave driver!” Gen swatted at Senku’s shoulder, finding the energy to sit up so he could get a proper hit in. 

“You want humanity back, you’re going to have to work for it.” Senku laughed, dodging Gen’s attempts at playfully slapping him. 

“Yes, yes, I know.” Gen waved his hands in mock surrender, sighing dramatically despite the bright smile on his face. Senku never thought he could be obsessed with the sight. “I think you just like pushing me to my limits.” 

“I will admit, I take great pleasure in seeing you blunder about when you think no one’s watching.” 

“Rude! Just for that, I expect a big gift of cola from you.” Gen proclaimed, crossing his arms like a child would. “Consider it a request of forgiveness for dragging me into quarantine with you.”

Senku held his hand over his heart, feigning a look of hurt. “Fine, fine. I’ll make one more bottle of cola when we’re both feeling better.” Senku smiled before laying his exhausted body back down, while Gen joined him a moment later. 

“Surprisingly easy to convince you this time.”

“More like my brain is too tired to argue.” Senku mumbled, closing his eyes. If Gen wasn’t going to comment on the fact that they had now moved to rest right next to each other, then Senku wasn’t either. 

“True, I guess we should get back to resting.” Gen agreed. 

Senku nodded. “Yeah. You feel any better?” 

“No. You?” 

“Not at all.” 

“Then I guess we have to stay here a bit longer.” Gen giggled, shifting, so he was comfortable under the blankets they were sharing. Senku hummed in agreement. The rain was still pouring outside, and they’d have to take another dose of medicine just to be sure they kicked this virus completely, but at that moment, Senku could not have felt more at peace. 

“Gen?” Senku whispered after a long moment getting a sleepy mumble in response. “For what it’s worth… I am sorry I got us both sick.” Senku apologized, wringing his hands under the blankets, only to be surprised by Gen taking both his hands in his own and moving closer to him. 

“Oh, Senku-chan, I know.” Gen whispered, burying his head in Senku’s chest. “For what it’s worth to you, I forgive you.” 

Senku chuckled. “We should be separated, you know.” 

“I can’t spread what you already have, stupid scientist.” Gen repeated with a mockery of sarcasm before laughing. “Besides, it’s nice and warm.” 

“Just this once, alright?”

“Of course ~” 

Senku smiled, tucking Gen further in so that nothing was left out of the blankets. “Though I wouldn’t mind doing this again sometime.” 

“I feel the same way.” Gen yawned, snuggling impossibly closer. “Good night, Senku-chan.” 

Senku smiled, letting himself relax. Being sick sucked, but it wasn’t too bad when you had the right company, and Gen was definitely the right kind of company to be around. Senku would have to make sure to stay closer with him these next few months. With that final thought, Senku closed his eyes, breathing in the leftover steam from their hot bowls and listening to the soft pitter-patter of rain outside. 

“Good night, mentalist.”

**Author's Note:**

> As promised! Here is that other sickfic I mentioned I'd write. Thank you to everyone who voted, it was a big help! I made Gen grouchy sick this time for whatever reason, sorry if he came out a bit rude! Poor Senku has to deal with him and his antics XD
> 
> Want to make a fic request? I'm taking fic requests for the entire month of June this year! Just go to my tumblr! @ Widow-Spyder 
> 
> Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading this far! <3


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